The Bottom Line
Small business is important to Central Oregon, and to Mid Oregon. Find tips and resources for business, and information about Mid Oregon’s commercial services and business members.
COVID-19 Pandemic Financial Management
The COVID-19 pandemic is not only causing fear and uncertainty about our health, but our livelihood as well. Many wonder “What happens to me and my family if my employer has to lay off people or my hours are cut?” Perhaps you are already experiencing COVID-19 pandemic financial management challenges?
Track Your Expenses
Now more than ever, it’s important to keep track of your expenses to make sure you’re not spending more than you make or increasing your credit card debt. If you feel like you live paycheck to paycheck, then now is definitely time to take a hard look at your expenses, see where you can make adjustments, and take firm control.
Create a Budget
To get control, you need to know exactly what you’re dealing with – how much money is coming in each month and how much is going out. To get a clear picture, create a budget. There are many apps and online templates you can choose from. Many of them provide visual images, like pie charts, that help you see how big of a chunk each expense is taking from your take-home pay.
A budget will tell you if you’re setting aside enough money for the essentials (rent, utilities, food) and how much is being eaten up by non-essentials (like snacks, eating out, cable, or non-essential online purchasing). If money is tight, cancel non-essential subscription services temporarily. You can always restart them when things get better. The silver lining of this pandemic is that since most of us are practicing social distancing to minimize contagion, you may already be saving money by not going out.
Minimize Credit Card Impact
If your credit card debt is high, see if any of your existing cards are offering low interest rates on balance transfers. Transfer the balance from the highest card to a lower interest card and pay more than the minimum whenever possible. Mid Oregon’s VISA credit cards can cost you less, with no balance transfer fees. Also, until you have paid off the debt, only use your credit card for emergencies.
Emergency Savings
Another important task is to beef up your emergency savings or start an emergency savings account if you haven’t done so. Ideally, you want to save at least 3 months of your take-home pay. You can start with as little as $5 a week. Simply save $5 consistently each week and when you think you can add a little more, increase your deposit. To make this easier, set up an automatic transfer from your checking account.
Mid Oregon’s online banking provides a savings goal tool that makes it easy to set and track your emergency fund and other savings goals. New online banking users can easily register on our website.
Mid Oregon also has additional ways to support our members. At this time we are also offering our members CARE Loans, Refinance options, Skip-A-Payments and more. Know that Mid Oregon Credit Union is still here for you. Current information is available on our COVID-19 Update page.
Paycheck Protection Loans Approved
776 Jobs Protected
Mid Oregon Credit Union, as the only financial institution headquartered in Central Oregon, completed approval of 37 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during the past week. The total approved funding from SBA (Small Business Administration) was $9,309,789 that protected 776 jobs in Central Oregon. The average number of employees per per business borrower is 21, and the average loan amount was $251,615.
“Our Commercial Services team did a great job of working through the red tape to get this program funding secured for our business members.” says Kevin Cole, our Executive VP/CFO. “The demand and volume of interest for this program was overwhelming, and it was a fast and furious week to accomplish this level of loan funding in such a short time frame.”
Another Round of Funds Coming Available
The Paycheck Protection Program exhausted the $349 billion federal stimulus package last week, and Congress approved another $310 billion this week to support the businesses still in need of help who were not approved in the initial program funding. We have received an additional 90 applications in anticipation of the system coming back online for more lending to small businesses.
We understand many businesses which wanted the program didn’t get in on the first round, we hope many are able to get funding in round 2. Our Commercial Services team did it’s best to respond under very challenging circumstances, and we are thankful so many were approved.
Challenging Circumstances
In spite of staff working remotely, a rushed federal program roll out with little warning, stimulus checks going out at the same time (and all the calls to find out when they would arrive) and our long-scheduled online banking platform upgrade, much was accomplished. We appreciate the work done by our team.
Coronavirus stimulus payment scams: What you need to know
We know there’s been a flood of information and updates about the government’s economic impact payments, or so-called stimulus checks, lately. But quickly and safely moving massive amounts of money into the hands of those who need it is a big job with a lot of moving parts. Some factors are ripe for Coronavirus stimulus payment scams.
We also know that the more you know about the process, the less likely you’re going to be tripped up by calls, text messages, or emails from scammers trying to steal your money or personal information.
Here’s what you need to know about the stimulus payments and how to avoid scams related to these payments.
Who will get money?
Adult U.S. residents that meet established income limits are eligible to receive money from the government. This includes:
- Taxpayers – people who filed a federal tax return for 2018 or 2019.
- Retirees – people who get Social Security, Railroad, or other retirement benefits.
- Beneficiaries – people who get public benefits like SSDI, disability, or veterans’ benefits.
- Non-filers – people who do not have to file a federal tax return, including people who made no income or made less than $12,200 (or $24,400 for married couples).
How will funds be distributed?
Most people don’t have to do anything to get their money because the IRS will use the same payment method – direct deposit, Direct Express debit card, or paper check – used to send you your tax refund, Social Security, retirement, or other government benefits money. If the IRS doesn’t have your direct deposit information, you can go to the “Get My Payment” feature at irs.gov/coronavirus and let them know where to send your direct deposit.
If you don’t usually file a tax return, go to irs.gov/coronavirus to access the “Non-filer” portal and to figure out what, if anything, you have to do to claim your money.
To check on the status of your payment, you can now use the “Get My Payment” feature at irs.gov/coronavirus.
Avoiding Coronavirus Stimulus Payment Scams
Scammers are using these stimulus payments to try to rip people off. They might try to get you to pay a fee to get your stimulus payment. Or they might try to convince you to give them your Social Security number, bank account, or government benefits debit card account number.
Four Tips for Avoiding a Coronavirus Stimulus Payment Scam
- Only use irs.gov/coronavirus to submit information to the IRS – and never in response to a call, text, or email.
- The IRS won’t contact you by phone, email, text message, or social media with information about your stimulus payment, or to ask you for your Social Security number, bank account, or government benefits debit card account number. Anyone who does is a scammer phishing for your information.
- You don’t have to pay to get your stimulus money.
- The IRS won’t tell you to deposit your stimulus check then send them money back because they paid you more than they owed you. That’s a fake check scam.
Report scams to the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint.
To keep up with the latest scams, sign up for the FTC’s consumer alerts.